Malaysia: Government looking at increasing retirement age
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Nov 2018
The government is looking to review the current retirement age of 60, in view of the high number of retirees who lack enough money to see them through their golden years, said human resources minister M Kula Segaran.
He did not reveal the new retirement age the government is considering.
He said that a higher retirement age will allow working adults to have a better standard of living once they retire from the job market, according to a Sun Daily report.
He said a large number of Malaysians – 68% of Employee Provident Fund (EPF) members aged 54 had less than MYR50,000 ($12,000) in their EPF accounts. He said with this level of savings, they would not be able to live comfortably upon retirement.
“One of the main problems is that most working adults rely on their EPF savings to see them through their old age, and not many think of savings, investing or buying insurance.
“They must start looking at such other means to ensure that they have sufficient funds for retirement as more and more people are living longer due to the advancement in medical technology,” Mr Kula said.
He also said that upon retirement, many people tend to withdraw all their money from EPF and end up spending it within a year, thus having no money to meet their future needs.
Research by the Social Security Organisation reveals that two in three Malaysians will live with less than MYR950 per month until 75 while seven in 10 will live with MYR210 a month until 75 or will have depleted their savings in less than two years. A